Beyond the Limits to Growth1992—A short version of the twenty-year update to Limits to Growth, which found that the study’s original conclusions still held but needed to be strengthened.

BGH – Not The Only Choice
1994—Comparing the full effects of chemically-generated increases in milk production with a non-chemical alternative

Breaking the Ice
1995—Nations came together at the UN Climate Change Conference in Berlin to discuss cuts in fossil fuel emissions, but the discussions resulted only in the “Berlin Mandate” to come up with a concrete plan and timeline by 1997.

Dancing With Systems
Dana Meadows’s classic piece about how to successfully engage systems thinking in your work

Definition of Sustainability
1995—An in-depth explanation of “sustainability” as Donella Meadows uses the term: “a complete vision of the world I want to work for and live in”

Envisioning a Sustainable World
1994—Transcript of Dana’s famous speech from the Third Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Ecological Economics in Costa Rica

Green-Washed Optimism: Reflections
1995—A look at the vital role of scientists and environmentalists in reporting the state of the environment and the destructive power of destorted information in the media

Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
Possibly Dana Meadows’s most famous and widely-read article, “Leverage Points” takes a systems view of creating change by assessing different entry points for change and how deeply they can impact a system.

Rio’s Success: Asking the Right Questions
1992—Donella Meadows examines the overlooked successes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, noting, “what governments do is not all that happens. Especially in environmental development matters, the future is primarily in the hands not of governments, but of people who have babies, drive cars, turn lights on and off, buy stuff, generate garbage. On the level of people, the Earth Summit was a success.”

Tools for the Transition to Sustainability
2004—This article, taken from Chapter 8 of Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update explores critical tools for moving towards sustainability, including networking, visioning, and truth-telling.

1976—Donella Meadows argues that the increasing imbalance between the human population and the main resource that sustains it – food – can only be improved with considerations of global change in policies, priorities, and social institutions.

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About The Donella Meadows Project

The mission of the Donella Meadows Project is to preserve Donella (Dana) H. Meadows’s legacy as an inspiring leader, scholar, writer, and teacher; to manage the intellectual property rights related to Dana’s published work; to provide and maintain a comprehensive and easily accessible archive of her work online, including articles, columns, and letters; to develop new resources and programs that apply her ideas to current issues and make them available to an ever-larger network of students, practitioners, and leaders in social change. Read More

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